The Return of the Sea Huntress
by AlexandriaDiAngelo
Summary: Alexandria was only 10 years old when she met the Winchesters, and saved them from Hellhounds. Following the orders of her Uncle, she reluctantly stays with them. She later leaves to join the war, making a promise to Dean that they will meet again. Years later after the Wars and Apocalypse, she returns to keep her promise.
1. Meeting the Hunters

The Return of the Sea Huntress

Chapter One: Meeting the Hunters

"This is probably the dumbest thing you have ever had me do," Alex grumbled as she tripped over a rock. "Thanks Uncle Hades."

She paused as she regained her balance, and took the time to study her surroundings. She could have sworn she had passed that tree before—no, the path had a fork in the road up ahead, definitely new territory. She continued walking, choosing to go down the left path.

The forest she was in was huge. She had been walking for hours and still no civilization. Well no, that was a lie. She had passed a different derivation from the path a while ago, one that led to a road. She had opted to stay in the forest, lest someone saw her and called the police about a runaway child.

She could hear birds cawing in the distance, and if you added in the fact that night had just settled in and she still had no idea if she was anywhere near the camp she was supposed to go to you'd get one terrified ten-year-old daughter of Poseidon. Not that she'd ever admit that.

As she continued walking she noticed the trees start to thin out, the path growing wider. She could hear the sounds of a fight coming up ahead of her, where the trees opened up into a clearing. She slipped into the darkness of the trees by the path and peered through them into the clearing, where two men are fighting hellhounds.

"Where did the stupid mutt go?" the shorter of the two shouted as he swung wildly at the air in front of him, completely missing the hellhound.

Alex rolled her eyes as she the two men pathetically tried to kill the monsters. _Amateurs,_ she thought. _It's like they can't even see the hellhounds. _She quietly decided to call the taller of the two Moose and the shorter Abercrombie. _It suited their looks,_ she thought.

She looked at the hellhound, studying it as its legs hitched backwards. The dog lowered it's head and he stared intensely at the shorter man. It was going to attack the stupid Abercrombie model. She cursed under her breath as she ran out of her hiding spot and towards the two men. _Gods, were these guys idiots,_ she thought. _Honestly, who fights off hellhounds with salt and-hold on, is that water?!_

Alex quickly pulled out her skull necklace, a gift from her Uncle Hades, and clicked it. The necklace transformed into a 3 feet long silver sword. She gripped the sword with both hands and swung it, causing the hellhound to dissolve into golden dust. Alex panted as she ignored the men's glare. The hellhounds cowered and ran away as they spotted her sword. Smirking, she looked up at the shocked men that were just standing there. They said nothing, not even a simple "Thank you". This caused anger to run through her and she glared at them.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~Line Break ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

It was as if a switch had been turned on in Sam and Dean's heads as they could suddenly see the horrifying hellhounds that had cowered at the sight of the sword. Where a hellhound once stood, very closely to to Dean, now stood a girl with auburn hair and a long sword, both covered in golden dust. Sam noticed that the girl was young, and could be no older than 10. Dean noted the scar on her face and her dirty clothes. _A runaway, _he thought. She paid no attention to them and turned to fight the hellhounds that turn around and ran away. Sam and Dean looked at her and she glared at them. Dean would never admit how much that glare scared him, her sea green eyes sent a chill down his spine and he was honestly impressed that someone so young could be so terrifying.

Alex stopped glaring at the men and scoffed, as if they were nothing impressive. She clicked her sword and it transformed back into her skull necklace. She was ready to walk away and look for the damn camp when something, or rather someone, stopped her

"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going?!" One of the men yelled. Alex didn't even bother to look at them before continuing to walk away. She heard footsteps and, acting on instinct, she pushed away the hand that was reaching to grab her before kicking the Abercrombie model it belonged to where the sun don't shine. He made a very lovely high-pitched noise and Alex resisted the urge to laugh before adjusting her features into a more menacing look.

"Do not touch me, or next time it'll be much worse," Alex growled. The guy she had kicked looked like he was about to respond when his giant moose of a friend interrupted.

"Woah, let's stay calm. Dean, she's just a little girl, you can't just go and try to kidnap her," he said calmly. _They must be related_, Alex thought as she looked at them more closely. _They have similar features._ Finally, she realized what he said and she turned to glare up at the freakishly tall man.

"Little girl?! Who the Hades do you think you're talking to? I am not a little girl!" She said loudly and then muttered "κοριτσάκι ελληνική κώλο μου"* under her breath, although no one heard it.

"Sorry. Anyways, what Dean was trying to ask, although he failed dramatically like always," Moose man started, ignoring Dean's indignant "Hey!" before continuing "was who you are and why a young lady like you has a sword."

Alex frowned at them. "That's none of your business."

"Look, we promise to leave you alone if you tell us," Sam said.

Alex glanced between them and the path, as if debating her options, before sighing and saying,"My name is Alex. And I have a sword because I need to protect myself from monsters like those hellhounds. Now, please, may I leave?"

Sam stepped out of her way and pulled a protesting Dean with him to let Alex get back to the path. She nodded at him gratefully as she passed him.

After watching her for a few moments, Sam had a thought.

"Do you have a place to stay?" he called after her retreating form.

Alex stopped and turned back to look at him. "No", she said. "I'm trying to get to this camp my uncle sent me to. When I get there I can rest. If I sleep out here a monster will find me."

"Why don't you stay with us?" Dean volunteered. "You can start out again in the morning."

She studied the two men, they didn't look menacing but she knew looks could be deceiving. _Like that damn poodle that turned into a hellhound, _she thought as she remembered the incident.

"Well, um, all right," Alex said and cursed mentally at how fragile her voice sounded. Dean's eyes softened just a bit at her tone and she could feel the heat on her face as she blushed in embarrassment. She walked over to them and smiled softly in their direction, which shocked the both of them.

"Lead the way Dean and Moose Man," she said with a smirk, and hid a laugh when she heard Dean snicker.

Dean led the way to the Impala, which was parked on the road a little ways away from the clearing in the forest. Alex gasped when she saw it.

"Oh my gods," she said as she rushed over to Dean's baby. "This is the sweetest car I have ever seen."

Dean smiled lovingly at his car. "Isn't she?"

Alex nodded enthusiastically. "She's better than everything I've ever hot wired."

Sam rolled his eyes, but looked a little concerned when Alex said she hot wired cars. "Just get in the car, you can fangirl later."

Alex nearly jumped into the car. Sighing in contentment, she slumped down in the back seat and smiled at the Winchesters in the front.

"Boys," she said as Dean started the car. "I think I'm starting to like you."

_**Author's Note: Well here it is, a week and a day late! I'm so sorry guys but I have finals tomorrow and I've been studying like crazy. Anyway this is your holiday present, as a thank you for all of your support. This brilliant story was co-written and edited by my best friend Muggleborn Demigod, so go check her stories out. Thanks again for helping me with this, Rachel! Love you lots. This story will be updated on random occasions since it depend on two writers, but the next chapter will be up soon. Hopefully.**_

_**I hope you like it and Review**_

_***Translation: κοριτσάκι ελληνική κώλο μου - Little girl, my Greek ass.**___

_**-Alex**_


	2. Eavesdropping, Idiotic Angels and Uncle

The Return of the Sea Huntress

_**(A/N: **__**Hello! So this chapter 2, I hope you guys enjoy it. Warning, there is a destiel hint but that's it, there's no actual m/m its just a funny hint. Alright enjoy, Chapter 3 is being worked on right now! -A)**_

Eavesdropping, Idiotic Angels and Uncle Hades

At some point during the ride Alex fell asleep, against her better judgment. She couldn't help that she hadn't had more than four hours of sleep in so long.

Unfortunately, Alex was a demigod. And demigods tend to dream.

This one just so happened to be normal. Well, for her at least.

Her Uncle Hades was in it. In actuality, she was with him, in his palace, in her odd, dreamy state, but details don't matter here. What matters is the conversation she had with him.

"Uncle," Alex greeted. "What brings you here?" Under her breath she added "Thanks for deciding to show up when I _don't_ need help."

Hades gave her a look. "Hush, Alexandria," Alex gave him a glare. He ignored it and continued, "I have come to talk to you about your meeting with those Hunters."

"You mean Moose man and Dean?" she asked, confusion in her voice. He nodded and created a black throne for him to sit in. _Could he even sit in it? _Alex wondered. _We _are _in a dream after all._

"Pay attention, Alexandria," he called out. She nodded and he continued, "Today, the Fates did something that shocked the Council. You have interacted with another pantheon, something that goes against ancient contracts."

"These guys, they're from another 'universe'?" Alex asked.

"Not exactly. These men are from this universe but they are from a different pantheon, meaning they are from another 'world,' but are still in or world. Look, we can be here for hours as I try to explain this to you, but I am not Athena, these mortals believe in Catholicism and what they fight and believe in are Catholic beliefs. They don't know about our world, or the Egyptian world and it was suppose to stay like this until you met them this morning. This is not good, but I suppose it could be worse. You will have to tell them about our world since I am telling you about theirs, understood?" Hades said all in the same tone and noticed that Alex was half listening_. Demigods and their ADHD, _he thought.

"Alexandria Persephone Knight are you listening to me!" he yelled and Alex looked at him wide-eyed. _Shit, it's never good when he says my full name,_ she thought nervously.

"Yes, Uncle, I was listening. Right, I'll tell them about me. I love you?" she said, but it sounded more like a question. His eyes softened immediately after her last three words and sighed. Alex knew she was off the hook and walked over to hug her uncle.

"Can you tell me more about them?" she asked and Hades nodded. After a long lecture that had Alex in tears when she heard about everything the boys had been through.

"I must get going, there is much work to be done," Hades said and Alex nodded.

"When will I see you again, Uncle?"

"Sooner than you think," he said with a wink.

Alex was confused, "What?!" she asked, but everything went dark before he could say anything and she could feel herself regaining consciousness.

-Line Break-

Dean watched Alex as she slept in the backseat. Her face was peaceful as she snored lightly, and Dean could barely make out the light freckles that were all over her cheeks and nose. She looked adorable as her head bobbed off and her messy hair got into her face.

"Poor kid, she looks like she hasn't slept in ages," he said to Sam. Sam nodded his face full of concern for the young girl in the back.

"Or eaten, have you seen how small she is?" Sam said and Dean nodded. They drove in silence with Alex occasionally muttering something in her sleep.

When they arrived at the hotel, Dean made Sam wake Alex up. He poked her stomach and she smacked him in the face. Dean began to laugh.

"I'm sorry! I acted on instinct," she said sheepishly. Sam nodded and the three got out of the car. Alex gave the car one last admiring look before following the guys to their crappy hotel room. Dean opened the door and entered first, followed by Sam, then Alex. When Alex closed the door, she heard a rustle of wings, and then it stopped. She grabbed her necklace, ready for an attack when she saw a man in a trench coat and tie. Sam and Dean looked unruffled at this man's appearance. _This must be Castiel, _she thought.

Castiel turned to look at her, his blue eyes analyzing her. She felt power radiate from him and she had the urge to run, instead Alex gripped her skull necklace.

"Greek," he said to her, his voice completely devoid of emotion. His voice sent chills down her spine, but her fear did not stop the anger that was rising inside of her.

"It's nice to meet you, Castiel," she said to him in the same tone he had used. Sam and Dean stared at them, their eyes flickering between the two, worried.

"You should not be here. Your presence will only cause mayhem," he said. _Oh hell no, it's on feathers, _Alex thought as she glared at the angel.

"Yeah 'cause your presence only brings rainbows and sunshine, right?" she mocked. His eyes darkened and she knew her comment had gotten to him.

"What do you know?" he nearly growled at Alex.

"More than you think," she said as she pulled her fist back and stepped forward, only to be stopped by Dean.

"Don't," he said firmly.

Alex glanced between Castiel and Dean repeatedly as they engaged in an intense staring contest. Slowly, as smirk started to creep up onto her face as she realized what was going on.

"So," she drawled out, grabbing the two males' attention. "I think I get it now." The men looked confused. _Typical, _Alex rolled her eyes. Sam looked amused. "You two are dumb idiots in love and refuse to admit it." she elaborated for them.

Castiel blinked. Dean gaped. Sam burst out laughing.

Dean started to splutter as Castiel said, "While Dean and I do share a more profound bond, I do not believe that we are 'in love', as you say."

Sam laughed even louder as Castiel awkwardly made quotations with his fingers.

Alex rolled her eyes again-her eyes were going to fall out of her head if she kept doing that-and shared a look with Sam like "can you believe these two?" before she spoke out loud. "I don't understand how you can deal with this all the time."

Sam shrugged. "I'm not really sure how I do it myself."

"_Sam_." Dean sounded both exasperated and embarrassed.

"What? It's true."

Castiel frowned as Dean and Sam continued to bicker, and turned back to Alex, who had a wicked gleam in her eye as she took in the argument she had started.

"You are breaking several contracts by being here," he reminded her. "It is my duty to ask you to go."

Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes (again!) at his comment.

"Listen here φτερωτά μαλάκα,*****"she said and smiled when he glared at her before continuing, "I know I'm not supposed to be here, but guess what? I am. I don't know why. I don't know how the Fates work, but if you ever see them, make sure to ask for me. Now I'm here following orders and no idiotic angel is going to stop me from following them"

"Whose orders are you following? They must know the danger that will happen if two pantheons cross," Castiel demanded.

"That is none of your business," Alex said as she crossed her arms. Castiel was about to say something when Dean interrupted.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?" Dean asked as he looked at the glaring Alex and Castiel.

"She's a demigod, a Greek one. She's from another pantheon and she is going against the ancient contracts that were made thousands of years ago. Pantheons aren't allowed to cross or help each other because of the destruction it can cause."

"Okay," Sam said slowly. "Greek demigod as in half god, half mortal?"

Alex nodded.

"Oh. Um," Sam sighed. "I'm not too surprised. There was bound to be something like this going on what with all the mythical things we deal with on a regular basis anyways."

Dean shrugged. "Just as weird as everything else we've seen."

Alex had to smile at that, most people would call her a freak if they found out she was a demigod.

"So, who's your godly parent?" Dean asked and the smile faded off her face. Alex glared at Dean, and the room seemed to have gotten colder.

"Interesting, you can control the air. I didn't take that as a trait of a child of the sea," Castiel said with smug smile. _Damn, he knows my weak spot, _Alex thought as she glared furiously at the angel.

"I'd shut up if I were you," she growled out. This only seemed to please him, as his smile grew just a bit.

"That's what you are though, the first born daughter of Poseidon" he said and Alex swore she could see red. She felt her body shake from anger as she pushed her skull necklace. She pushed Sam and Dean out of any danger with the air around her, before running toward Castiel. She heard Sam and Dean's yells as she raised her sword. She felt someone grab her dark blue hoodie before she could swing her sword.

Her eyes met her Uncle's black eyes and she instantly relaxed. He lowered her to the ground and she could fully see her uncle. She ignored the Winchesters' shocked expressions as she clicked her sword away. She looked at the grown man as her uncle put a hand on her shoulder.

"Castiel," he greeted the angel. The angel looked shocked at his ability to calm the young girl.

"Hades, I was not aware of your protection of this child. I apologize for the way I talked to her. Also, it is nice to see you again," Castiel looked embarrassed as he said this.

"Hm," Hades stared at Cas. "Yes, I suppose it is nice to see you again as well, Castiel. Alex," Hades addressed the young girl, who was gaping up at her uncle. "please do not attack the angel. He doesn't know any better."

Alex nodded.

"Now, I don't suppose you could let me talk to Castiel and the Winchesters privately?" His eyes bored into hers and Alex knew she had no choice in the matter.

Sighing, she said, "I'll just be outside. Not because you need me to be out there so you boys can have your alone time. I'm going outside because I want to." She stalked outside and closed the door moodily.

"Cheeky little thing, isn't she?" Hades said fondly, staring at the closed door. He walked over and opened it after a moment, revealing Alex standing a bit too close to the door. "No eavesdropping, young lady. Why don't you wait in the Winchester's car?" He snapped his fingers and the Impala unlocked. Alex glanced at Dean before frowning at her uncle and heading over to the car. She slipped into the back seat and leaned over to turn the radio on, then promptly raised the volume a bit too much. Hades rolled his eyes before closing the door and turning back around to face Castiel and the Winchesters.

"She'll be back to listen in," he informed them. He lazily waved his hand in the general direction of the door before continuing, "So I've put a spell on the room so that we may speak in relative peace."

"Castiel," he addressed the angel, "I know that Alex's presence is breaking many of the rules and whatever else is in those contracts. The Fates came to me and said Alexandria must stay with the Winchesters for an undetermined period of time."

Hades turned to the Winchesters that clearly didn't know how to act in front of a god. He chuckled, "Relax mortals, I won't smite you for no reason. I leave that particular job to my two idiotic brothers."

He became more serious and looked at them, "There will be a war soon and Alexandria is unfortunately going to play a big part in it. She must be prepared for it and that is why she will stay in your care until she feels ready. I know that this is not an easy task as Alexandria is unbelievably loyal and reckless, but I will give you money and supplies for her."

The two Winchesters shared a glance, they knew they couldn't defy a god so they nodded their heads in agreement. Hades looked at them before he glared at them, his black eyes flashing, "Be warned, if anything happens to my niece while she is in your care, there will be severe consequences."

The Winchesters paled.

"Yes, sir," Dean said.

Hades smirked, "Good." He opened the door, where Alex was standing looking frustrated.

"I told you not to eavesdrop," he scolded.

She scowled. "Yeah, whatever. Not like I could hear anything anyways. Are you leaving?"

"Yes," Hades nodded. "Stay with the Winchesters for a while. You don't have to go to the camp right away. This will be good for you. Have a nice time!"

Alex's eyes widened, "Wait, _what_?" But Hades was already gone.

"Dammit," she cursed at the spot her uncle had been standing in. "He always does that! Ugh, and now I'm stuck with you guys? No offense and all, you aren't awful, but I do not want to spend all of my time with you."

"It's only for a little while," Dean argued. "You'll leave soon enough."

Alex groaned. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

***Translation: feathered asshole**


	3. The Demons of her Past

The Return of the Sea Huntress

The Demons of her Past

_**(A/N): Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Warning! There is cursing, sort of graphic abuse and Cheesy ending. I'm just telling you beforehand. See if you can spot the Frozen reference!**_

_**-A **_

Alex frowned as a bag of clothes and money appeared on the bed. There was a note attached to it:

_Here's some clothes and money for you, try not to destroy and spend too quickly. Have fun, and try not to cause too much trouble for the Winchesters! -Uncle H_

Alex's frown turned into a scowl. _I won't cause trouble,_ she thought stubbornly, knowing her uncle would hear her. In her mind, she saw him chuckle.

Sighing, she looked at the hotel clock. _It's eight already? _she thought, _Where the hell did my day go? _She turned to the Winchesters, who were bickering about her and pie. She sighed and cleared her throat loudly in order to get their attention.

"If you guys don't mind, I'll be going to sleep," she said and muttered "I don't even remember the last time I slept on an actual bed" under her breath. Sam and Dean heard it though and shared a worried look.

Alex took the bag of clothes and changed into some clean clothes before getting into one of the motel beds. She figured the brothers could share. They were brothers, after all. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Alex remembered the main reason she didn't go to sleep-_nightmares. _But it was too late now. She had fallen into dreamland and her nightmare had begun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Alex immediately recognized the home she was in. It had been hers, once upon a time. But now, it was just a horrible memory. She spotted the small blue house at the end of the clearing where she used to live. Her mother had said it was far away from danger. There was a little girl playing there, and Alex knew it was her. It was the Alex that used to be happy._

_She wished she could turn away and stop watching the inevitable horror she was about to be shown, but she knew her nightmares didn't end until her mother was dead._

_The younger Alex laid there happily as she watched the bright blue sky above her, the beautiful white clouds. She was too busy pointing out the clouds to herself that she didn't hear the growling noises. Finally, she heard them when she felt hot breath near her hair. The 5-year-old Alex kept a straight face as she turned and saw the gigantic beast._

"_Mommy!" she called out loudly, but not loud enough to irritate the monster. She briefly saw the curtain move and the door opened slowly. Older Alex wanted to scream out and curse the Fates as she saw her mother on the last day of her life. If only the 5-year-old Alex had known that that would be the last day she saw her mother, the woman who had loved her and whom she had inherited her auburn hair from._

"_Alex, sweetie, I want you to run when I say so, and just remember that I love you," her mother said as she reached the end of the porch. Tears streamed down her mother's face and young Alex knew that something bad was about to happen._

"_I love you, too, Mommy," Alex said as she took tiny steps back and the monster growled and looked at her hungrily._

"_Run!" Alex's mother yelled as she charged the animal with a small, bronze knife. Young Alex ran as fast as she could, tripping on little pebbles, and when she looked back her breath caught. The monster had her mother in its mouth. Her mother screamed and she kept running, hoping to get her mother's screams out of her head. She turned back only once more and she saw blood and her mother's body all over the clearing. The beautiful clearing was stained in red, with the blood of her innocent mother._

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Alex awoke covered in sweat and she took a minute to control her trembling body. She glanced around and saw that Sam and Dean were still sleeping. _It must've been a quiet nightmare then, _she thought, _Usually I end up screaming myself hoarse._

Alex decided to go outside for some air, a stupid decision on her part, but right now she needed to get away. She made sure to take out her necklace before exiting the room and leaning against the door. She sunk to the ground and blinked to stop the tears. Her eyes closed as her breaths came out in short huffs.

"You had a troubling dream," a very annoying voice said. She groaned inwardly. _Out of the people to have caught me, it had to be that damn angel, _she thought bitterly.

Alex was too tired to do anything so she just opened her eyes and caught the gaze of the angel. "Go away please, I really don't want to deal with you right now."

Cas narrowed his eyes. "I can be of assistance," he said stiffly.

Alex tried to glare at him, "I don't need your help!" She stopped herself from completely snapping at the angel as curiosity got the best of her, "How would you even help me?"

"I can take your nightmare," he explained. "But just for today."

Alex thought about it, she didn't need help, but she was tired. She sighed and stopped glaring at him,"Will it hurt?"

"It should not, but I am not entirely sure," Castiel admitted. Alex was feeling conflicted, she didn't trust the angel but she didn't want to relive _that _memory.

"Alright, you...you can help, but I need you to promise that you won't tell Sam or Dean," She said and made sure to wiggle her eyebrows when she said Dean's name.

Castiel looked confused by her actions. "Of course," he said. "I will not tell Sam or Dean." Alex rolled her eyes at the clueless angel but moved just a bit closer to Castiel. "Go ahead, work your Angel Powers, Castiel," she said and for the first time there was no venom when she said his name.

Cas nodded and moved to stand in front of her. Gently, he placed the tips of his middle and index fingers on her forehead, relieving her of her nightmare. He pulled back. "Better?"

Alex nodded sleepily as she tried to keep her eyes open. She thought it would hurt, but surprisingly it made her _very_ tired. Castiel leaned down and wrapped his arms around her and instead of pushing him away she leaned in closer and snuggled into him. She felt completely safe as she fell asleep. For the first time since her mother's death, Alex slept nightmare free.

Cas quietly moved back into the motel room and easily slipped Alex back into her bed. Staring down at her, he realized with a start exactly how young she was. It confused him. _Young children like her should not be so troubled,_ he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days after her first nightmare around the Winchesters, Alex's routine was the same: she'd have another nightmare, act like she was fine, and Dean would clog her arteries with his greasy fast food. She would complain of course until Dean stuffed her mouth with pie and all complaints would be lost. Finally, Alex had enough.

"That's it, I can't take it anymore! I will not have anymore disgusting fast food. I will make _actual _food and Samantha will help me. We can use the credit card my uncle gave me to buy the food, of course," Alex said on her fifth morning with the Winchesters.

Alex made Sam drive them to the nearest grocery store, where she bought a cartful of "real food" as she called it. She directed them through the store, and had Sam push the cart, as she was still too short to see very far over it. She pointed them in the direction of silverware, "Because you can't use your fingers for everything," she huffed when Sam asked why.

The aisle included all sorts of cooking utensils, and Alex dropped a few pots and pans into the cart as she made her way to where the silverware was located in the back. She gave the knives a wide berth as she walked quickly towards the plastic forks and spoons. Sam noticed this and frowned.

"Get the knives," she ordered him as she put her boxes into the cart, and he obediently went to pick out a few kitchen knives. She looked a little jumpy when he came back and put them next to the other cooking supplies.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," she replied shortly. "Now hurry up, we still need to get plates."

It took them almost two hours to successfully find and buy everything on Alex's mental shopping list, including her chocolate ice-cream. When they got back to the motel, Dean complained loudly about how it took them so long.

"Shut up," Alex smacked him. "It's your fault for not eating real food."

"Burgers are too real food!"

"Not the gross, greasy kind you eat everyday!"

"Guys, don't start a fight," Sam said as he walked in with more groceries. Alex just huffed and stuck her tongue out at Dean she began to prepare the food. Sam began to work on the pasta and Alex glared as he barely let her help, saying that she'd burn herself or something.

_I did not make food at that awful orphanage for three years just to get stuck with the damn salad_, she thought as she started to pull the lettuce apart. She knew she'd have to cut the tomatoes and cucumbers with a knife. She looked at Sam with what she hoped was a puppy dog face.

"Sam, can't you cut the vegetables, I'm scared I'll accidentally cut myself with the knife," she said playing the innocent card. He looked at her and nodded and she let out a quiet breath of relief.

The pasta with meatballs (Alex's idea) and salad were done half an hour later. Dinner was great and Dean was forced to eat the "rabbit food.' He smiled at Alex, and told her it was good. She smiled smugly.

It was late when Alex finally dragged herself to bed. She put off sleep for as long as she could manage, but for some reason she felt especially tired that night. Perhaps it was the shopping.

She slipped under the covers silently, as to not disturb the already sleeping Winchesters. She didn't fall asleep instantly, which was both a relief and an annoyance. She was glad to put off the nightmares for a few more minutes, however she did need sleep. She tossed and turned for almost half an hour before she finally succumbed to the memories of her awful past.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_She was at her old orphanage and she had a feeling she knew what day it was. Mr. Brown, the orphanage director, was dragging her 9-year-old self by the arm . He let her go in order to get the keys and opened the door._

"_Get in there, you little bitch!" Mr. Brown yelled. Young Alex walked in carelessly and smirked at him as he closed the door._

_He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer before drinking half of it in one gulp. "You almost got arrested," he spat out._

"_Yeah, problem?" Young Alex said cheekily and the older Alex wished she didn't have such a big mouth. Mr. Brown looked at her before he slapped her, she glared at him but that was the only reaction she gave._

"_You could have gotten me in trouble, you little wench," he said as he grabbed her by her hair and yanked her up so that she could look into his cold, dark eyes. The young Alex bit her lip in order to stop the scream that was building up._

"_I bet a lesson will teach you," he said with a cruel smile, and the younger Alex's eyes widened. She shook her head in a 'no' motion and tried to get her hair out of his strong grip. He just laughed and finished his beer._

"_Yes, a lesson sounds like a good idea," he said as he dragged her by the hair in order to get another beer. He took a large gulp. Young Alex let out a tear as he pulled back his fist and punched her. His fist collided with her right cheek and she fell to the ground. He grabbed a kitchen knife and pulled her up by her shirt._

"_Now, where should it go?" Mr. Brown asked himself as he put the knife to Alex's skin, the cool metal sliding over her skin almost carelessly. The young Alex punched and kicked anywhere she could reach in order for him to let her go. He placed the knife on her throat and made a tiny cut. She stopped moving._

"_Resist and I'll do much worse than that," he threatened before he took the knife and slowly ran it down her left cheek. The 9-year-old screamed as she the knife went deeper and the blood began to pour. He laughed at her pain and the threw her to the floor when he was done. He cleaned the knife and went to his room with a smug smile._

_Alex wanted to cry as she saw her younger self trembling in pain. Young Alex began to cry as she touched her face and saw the blood. She cried and cursed at everything, her uncle for putting her here, her damn father, and her dead mother._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex woke up to Sam shaking her. She blinked wearily and rubbed her eyes until she could focus on the his face properly. He looked concerned.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. "You were shaking and mumbling. And you're drenched in sweat."

Alex looked down at her body. Sam was right, she noted in surprise. She was sweaty and sticky and she was still shaking slightly.

"I'm…" she faltered. She didn't know how she was, to be honest, but she wasn't about to tell Sam that. She didn't know what to do. She was confused. She was afraid. Her nightmare was messing with her head.

Alex looked up at Sam and Dean, both of whom were staring at her. She couldn't tell them how scared she was. She managed to pull the cover off her, her hands were still shaking. Her mouth went dry, and she knew she had to leave. They had seen her at her most vulnerable, they would hate her now.

"I...I have to go," Alex said before she quickly got out of the bed, only stumbling a little before she ran out of the motel room. She felt the pebbles and rocks on her bare feet as she ran, she could hear Sam and Dean's protests from the distance. She had no idea where she was going. Tears were starting to blur her vision.

Alex stopped when she tripped over something. She sat up and stared around. She was at a tiny park. She brought her knees up to her chest as she looked at the trees around her and the grass beneath her. She felt herself hiccup and the tears fell. Before she knew it she was crying. She tried to wipe the tears away, but they kept falling. So she let them.

Alex didn't know how much time had passed by before she heard footsteps behind her. She jumped up, hand at her necklace. But she didn't need her sword, she realized. Because she knew the person in front of her.

"Dean?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam was not good at sleeping. This was a fact. Sam was good with facts. Let's go over some facts.

Sam knew Dean was not good at sleeping. Fact. He knew this was because of the job. Fact. Sam knew Alex avoided sleep to avoid nightmares. Fact.

And despite his best attempts to help, Sam knew that Alex refused to go to bed unless the Winchesters were already asleep. She knew when they were faking. She knew their routine. She was clever and she got around it. Sam hated that fact.

She was also good at smothering any noises she made while she had these nightmares. Another fact Sam disliked.

So it was a stroke of luck when she finally gave an indication of her horrible dreams. Sam was by her side in an instant. He was not going to miss his chance to help.

She was twisting, tangling the covers, and sweating profusely. He could have sworn she'd muttered something, too.

Frowning, Sam started to shake the girl to wake her up. She didn't.

"Dean," Sam called out. "Dean." A little louder this time. "Dean!"

"Wuzzgoinon?" Dean sat up straight and reached for the knife he kept under his pillow.

"No, you don't need that," Sam hissed. "It's Alex. She's having a nightmare."

Dean walked over quickly. "Why don't you wake her up?"

"I'm trying," Sam shook Alex a bit more. She moaned. He stopped briefly, but when she didn't wake up he started again.

"C'mon, Alex," he said. "Wake up."

Apparently, Sam's shaking had done enough by this point. Alex opened her eyes. She blinked, then rubbed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked immediately. "You were shaking and mumbling. And you're drenched in sweat."

Sam shared a worried look with Dean as Alex looked down at her body.

"I'm…" she trailed off, as if unsure and both Sam and Dean stared at her.

Alex gently peeled the cover off of herself, and stood on shaky legs. The poor girl looked terrified. Sam's heart went out to her as she wobbled on her feet.

"I...I have to go," Alex stuttered out before rushing out of the room.

"Hey!" Dean ran after her.

"Alex!" Sam wasn't far behind his brother.

They kept running after her, but it was dark and she was small. Not to mention the major head start she got. They lost her after a while.

"I'll get the car," Dean said. "You keep looking. Call me if you find her, all right? I'll talk to her."

Sam nodded and Dean jogged off back to the motel.

He wandered for almost an hour before he found her in a small park about a mile from the motel. He called Dean, who hung up as soon as the location was out of Sam's mouth. It only took a minute before he got there.

Sam pointed wordlessly towards Alex, who sat huddled on a path not far from them. Dean nodded at his brother and walked briskly over to the young red-head.

She jumped when he heard his footsteps, and spun around to face him, hand at her throat. She stared at him for a beat.

"Dean?"

Dean smiled cautiously, "Hey, kiddo. Care to explain why you ran off?"

Alex blushed, maybe it was because he caught her at her most vulnerable or because he called her kiddo.

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," She said and she was shaking, as if she thought Dean would hit her. He froze. No, she was far too innocent for some to have actually hurt her. It would explain her nightmares, but the thought of someone hitting her, it made his fist clench.

"It was a nightmare, though, right?" Dean asked. "We've noticed that you have them a lot." He gestured behind him, towards Sam.

Alex blinked and blushed even more before she looked down, "I thought you wouldn't notice. I did my best to hide them away, especially after what happened with the angel"

"Well, we all have nightmares. You don't have to hide them." Dean said gently. "We aren't going to kick you out because of a few bad dreams."

A tear ran down Alex's face, "I...I'm not use to being with 'nice' people. All the mortals I've met, they didn't hesitate to…hurt me."

She then looked down in shame.

Dean looked angry at her confession. "Alex," he said darkly. "I want you to spill. Everything. _Now._"

Alex then looked up and glared at him, her eyes showing every emotion going through her. _Hate, anger, sadness._

"Why?" She hissed at him, "So you can pity me, so you can give me sympathy that I don't want?! So that you can think of less of me because of my past?!"

Her voice rose and cracked at the end and her body was trembling. She had tears falling down her face but she didn't wipe them away.

"No," Dean growled. "So we can help you get past it. So we can help you heal. We don't do the whole pity schtick, little girl, in case you haven't noticed. And we can't judge you by your past. We can't do anything about your past. You know why? _Because it's your past!_ There is nothing you can do about it! The past is in the past, Alex. Let it go."

"Fine!" Alex said with a growl, "You want to know about my shitty life then you'll fucking get it! When I was five years old, I watched my mother get ripped to shreds by a hellhound. It hurts like a bitch, huh Sam?! She told me she loved me before...before she was dead!"

Alex looked like she was going to breakdown, she was red in anger and her tears were now falling faster.

"After my mother's death, my uncle had to send me an orphanage. I was the youngest kid there and the others there loved to remind me of my mother's death. I started to hate myself and everyone there, so much that I needed to let it all out. I started getting in trouble and Mr. Brown did not like that at all. He made sure to hurt me and break me down so badly that I learned not to trust anyone. I took it all and I remember begging for anyone to help me. No one did of course," she spouted off her story angrily. "Finally one day I almost got arrested and Mr. Brown thought he'd teach me a lesson. He beat me and gave me this." She pointed to the scar on her left cheek.

"My uncle took me out of there, not before killing the mortal. He wanted me to go this camp. I thought I was finally free, but no, these stupid nightmares follow me everywhere. Every damn night I have to watch my mother die right in front of me. And I can't do anything! Nothing! I can't do anything because I'm useless. I...I just don't want to hurt anymore," Alex said with such a broken look on her face that it made Dean die inside.

"You listen here," Dean said. "None of that is your fault, so quit blaming yourself. I don't think any less of you. Sam won't think any less of you. Now please, just let us help you."

Alex looked at him. She took a few hesitant steps toward him before she ran and hugged him. She was crying and her sobs were muffled in his jacket. It took a few seconds before Dean hesitantly hugged her back. He was new to the whole comforting thing.

"We'll get through this Alex. Sam and I will help you and I promise to protect you" He whispered to her and she hugged him tighter and whispered a quiet "Thank you"

Sam smiled softly at the sight of the two. All three of them were oblivious of Hades, who was watching from afar. He thanked the Fates for sending his niece with the Winchesters who were slowly starting to heal her.


	4. New Wounds to Heal

The Return of the Sea Huntress

New Wounds to Heal

Sam made Alex promise that if she ever had a nightmare that she would wake him or his brother up. His heart broke every time Alex woke him up after she had a nightmare. She would be pale, shaking, and looked downright terrified every time. The first time Alex woke Sam up after having a nightmare, she had been extremely embarrassed, no matter how much Sam told her that it was okay.

"Sam," Alex whispered quietly. "Sam, wake up, please."

"Huh?" Sam sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the clock. 3:00 AM exactly. "What's up, Alex? Did you have a nightmare?"

Alex nodded, cheeks red.

"Hey, it's alright, no need to be embarrassed. We all have them."

"No one as much as me," Alex muttered.

"Really, Alex, don't worry about it. You'll be fine. Do you want to talk about it?" Sam asked patiently.

"Not really, no," Alex said.

Sam nodded silently.

"It was my mom again," Alex said finally, cheeks flushing a darker color.

"I see."

"It's one of the worst ones," Alex said, eyes filling with tears. "And it hurts more and more every time I see it happen."

Sam bit his lip. Dean was probably the better candidate for talking about mommy nightmares, but Alex had woken him up instead of his brother. He was going to help this girl. "I understand. Not having a mom is tough."

Alex stared at him, her eyes looking at him incredulously, "Um. Do you want me to go wake up Dean. I mean you did your best."

"No!" he said a bit too loudly. "I mean, no. I grew up without a mom, too, Alex. You knew yours longer than I knew mine but still. It's hard without a motherly figure in your life. I only had my dad and Dean. You didn't have anyone after she died."

Alex glared at him, some tears falling down her cheeks, "Thank you for reminding me about that, Samantha."

"Sorry," Sam shrugged helplessly. "But it's true. She is dead, and and despite having the God of the Underworld as your uncle you can't bring her back. But you know what? You aren't alone anymore. You have your creepy uncle-sorry-and you also have me and Dean."

Alex let out a tiny laugh, "You know, you kind of suck at this, but thanks. I think I'll be okay for tonight, but I probably won't go to sleep."

Sam winced. "Yeah, I know. We grew up with just our dad, remember? And he didn't exactly do the whole comfort thing." Shaking his head, he continued. "Are you sure you'll be alright? Do you want a book to read if you're going to stay up? I think I have a Harry Potter book somewhere."

"Sure, I wasn't really allowed to read at the orphanage but my mother was a writer so I grew up with books. Just tell me where it and you can get some sleep, you really need it."

Sam got up as quietly as he could from the creaky bed. "No, don't worry about it, I can get it. It's in my bag anyways, I don't want you going through my stuff." He pawed through his duffel until he found it, and handed her _The Sorcerer's Stone_ triumphantly. "That's the first one. American edition. I don't have any of the others, just that one. I read the others in libraries in towns we passed through on hunts."

"It's fine," Alex said as she took the book. She stepped forward hesitantly and hugged Sam before turning and walking quickly back to the other bed.

Sam smiled as she crawled into her bed. The hug was nice. She had never hugged him before.

He'd have to work on that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam noticed that Alex was getting closer to Dean and usually woke him up when she had nightmares, not Sam. She often asked Dean if he could come sleep in the same bed with her. Sam found it adorable. Dean, however, was very hesitant at first until Sam argued with that it would be better for Alex if he did.

"Look, Dean," Sam sounded extremely frustrated and fed up with his brother. "All you have to do is sleep in the same bed with her, what's the problem?"

"Dude, no," Dean said. Alex was outside, talking to Cas about her situation. Their talks were usually brief, so Sam had to make it quick.

"Dean. There is nothing wrong with it. You just have to make sure she gets a good night's sleep. Come on."

"Sam, I can't."

"Dean."

"_Sam._"

"She doesn't have as many nightmares after she talks to you," Sam points out.

"So?" Dean leans back on the bed. "She seems okay after talking to you, too."

"But not as okay as she is after she talks to _you_, Dean. She likes you better. She can relate to you more. Just try it for one night, and if you still feel like a creeper and she's uncomfortable then you can stop."

"Fine," Dean grumbled. "One night only, you hear? One."

One night turned into almost every night. Sam thought it was even more adorable when he would wake up and Alex was snuggled into Dean's side. Dean would always have a protective arm around her, almost like he was protecting her from the monsters in her dreams. It also helped that as long as Dean was there, Alex would have no nightmares.

Sam was proud of himself. Alex was happier and less tired all the time. Dean even seemed to gain a bit more from it. He smiled at Alex more. She was definitely the little sister they never had.

Along with helping Alex with her nightmares, the Winchesters had begun to teach her about hunting. She was a quick learner and she was already learning how to set up demon traps. She once asked if she could go hunting with them. They protested loudly and claimed that they hadn't had a case in a long while.

"So," Alex said casually as she took a break from studying what she called 'Supernatural 101'. Dean and Sam turned to look at her as she put on an innocent face that usually worked on them.

"When am I actually going to put this to use, you know, when am I going to join you guys on a hunt?" she asked and was surprised by their reaction.

"No." was Dean's immediate response. Sam nodded his agreement.

"We can't have you getting hurt," he said. "Your uncle would have our heads. Literally."

"Oh come on, I'm a demigod. I've fought way worse and we are kind of made to take a lot and be warriors."

"We grew up trained to fight supernatural creatures, too, Alex. We're adults and we still get hurt by them. You're only ten. Please, just let us handle this. You can hunt with us soon, but you need to learn more first." Sam explained

"You're just saying that so I shut up. You said I needed to learn and I will, but you won't let me out there. My uncle taught me everything and he won't let me join the War. Instead I'm here doing nothing as people, my family, get hurt!"

Sam sighed. "Alex, we aren't saying that to shut you up. We're saying it because we care, and because we don't want to see you hurt. Yes, you learn by being out in the field, but that's not the only way to learn."

"And you can't do anything about the War," Dean added. "Even if you could, they'd probably make you stay out of it because of your age. Don't pretend that they wouldn't. Being here with us means you have a chance to fight, but you need to be more patient."

"You think they'll stop me because of my age? I may be a child but to the Gods, to my father," Alex spat out bitterly, "I am a pawn. My older brother Percy, was only twelve when they sent him on a quest where he almost died. I know you care and I'm thankful of that, but…you know what? Just forget it. I'll stay out of the field as long as you want. I'm done arguing, and my head hurts." She said and ran off to the bathroom before they could stop her.

Sam sat down and rubbed his temples. "I feel bad for not letting her hunt with us."

"Don't. She's too young for hunting," Dean said.

"Dean, she kicked hellhound butt while we cowered in a corner."

"We didn't cower!"

"And you were her age when you started hunting. Hell, you were younger when you handled weapons."

"Yeah, well, that's why I don't want her to hunt, Sam. I don't want her to end up like me," he said bitterly.

"She won't," Sam said gently. "Because she has us. We aren't Dad, we won't do what he did. By the time something easy comes up she'll probably know enough to help out. She can hunt then and we'll keep an eye on her."

"Fine," Dean grumbled. "But until then it's just research and learning the basics."

"Deal." A voice said behind them. They turned to see Alex, who was now out of the bathroom and standing behind them.

Eventually, they got a call from Bobby saying there was a possible case a few towns away in Bridgewater, New York. So they left their motel and found a new one not too far from where the Wendigo was at. Sam and Dean didn't know what they were going to do so that Alex wasn't harmed.

While Sam and Dean were working on the case they made Alex stay in the motel room, and have her on her guard at all times. They also made Cas keep an eye on her while they were out. Dean also had given her an old cellphone of his (she told him she couldn't use it because it'd attract monsters, but she took it anyway).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex sighed as she stared at the computer screen that was currently displaying an article about the Wendigo's latest victims. Sam and Dean had called an hour ago to give her information, but it had only lead to a dead end. Now she had nothing to do and was completely alone. The frustration was getting to her. She started to rub her necklace, a force of habit that she couldn't break.

She wanted to actually be out there, she wanted to feel the rush and satisfaction of actually hunting this thing down. Alex decided she would hunt this thing down, Sam and Dean would be mad but they'd be proud of her. She'd never admit just how much she wanted for someone to actually be proud of her.

Alex started her mission and hoped that Castiel, who was now her part time babysitter, would not catch her. She tiptoed to the door, begging to the gods to help her, praying that Cas wouldn't drop in just yet.

"Alex, where are you going? Dean said that you are not permitted to leave this area," Cas said behind her in that emotionless voice of his. It used to drive Alex up the wall. Now she thought it was cute when he was all emotionless. Although, you could hear the love in his voice when he talked about Dean_. Shit, focus Alex!_

"Nowhere Cas, It's just I'm tired of being cooped up all the time," she told to him.

Cas raised an eyebrow.

"I'm tired of being in this little room for hours. I feel like I'll go insane and then I'll have to go visit my cousin, Mr. D."

Cas frowned. "Well, you can't leave. Just wait until Dean and Sam get back."

"I love how you say Dean's name first," Alex said before she sat down, "Sam and Dean could be gone for hours, they like to make stops along the way."

"Unfortunate for you," Cas said.

"Gods, Cas, can you lighten up a bit? Hey, what if you take me somewhere? I'm sure Sam and Dean won't mind since I'm with you and you're all Angel badass-ness," Alex said with a pleading puppy dog face.

Cas's emotionless mask fell for a second before it popped right back into place. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Oh come on, please, pretty please! I can show you human customs so that you can impress Dean. Like going to a park or a movie."

Alex smirked as Cas's resolve fell. "Fine," he said grudgingly. "But only for an hour."

"Yes! You are the best Angel ever. Lucifer can go suck it!" Alex said with a fist pump before hugging Cas.

"Lucifer was an Archangel, actually," Cas said stiffly, standing stock still as Alex hugged him, effectively ruining the moment.

"He can still go suck it," Alex shrugged as she let Cas go and grabbed some of the mortal money that her uncle had given her. She turned back to Cas.

"To freedom!" She yelled as Cas used his angel powers to take them away.

Sam and Dean returned that night to see a sleeping Alex, who had a lightning bolt drawn on her face, courtesy of Cas, and a very tired, yet happy, Castiel. He was wearing a propeller hat, like the kind you got at carnivals and he gave both brothers a stuffed animal.

"Alex won these for you. I enjoy watching over her. We must do this again," he said simply before leaving. Sam and Dean just stood there, baffled.

After the incident with Cas, Alex had been forced to stay in the motel room, no exceptions which pissed her off completely. But luckily for her, the next time the Winchesters left, Cas was busy with heaven business, so he couldn't babysit her for once. Sam and Dean made Alex promise not to leave the motel as they headed toward the woods that Alex had told them about. Apparently, the woods were what connected all of the victims. Alex was, yet again, left to do research. Research that didn't even have to be done anymore, if she was right. Which she totally was.

A little while later, Alex heard a noise from outside the room as she researched. She got up and opened the door, not actually leaving the motel room. She stood there, looking around a bit when she heard Dean's voice telling her to come out and find him. Alex didn't even think as she quickly grabbed the extra flare gun that Sam and Dean left, just in case she needed it, and ran off into a wood-like area as Dean yelled, "Hurry, Alex! Sammy's hurt!"

Alex followed Dean's voice and ended up in a warehouse. Sam and Dean were nowhere to be seen. Alex smacked herself when she remembered that a Wendigo can imitate voices. She turned to run away and saw the Wendigo standing _right there_. She jumped, startled, dropping the flare gun. It slid away from her, towards the door. She cursed herself for her stupidity. She then screamed loudly, hoping to alert Sam and Dean, who should have been close by, or Castiel. The Wendigo attacked her as soon as the scream left her mouth.

Alex fought back as hard as she could, but it didn't help. The Wendigo slammed her into a wall, and as she crumpled to the ground she hit her head on a rock that had probably been thrown through one of the broken windows by a rebellious teen. She fell unconscious.

The Wendigo was about to eat her when Sam and Dean arrived with flare guns.

After defeating the Wendigo, the Winchesters took the still unconscious Alex to a proper hospital, as she had a concussion and needed actual stitches from a real doctor.

Hades came to the hospital to give the nurse all of Alex's medical information. After the nurse walked away, Hades turned to the Winchesters.

"I thought I warned you to keep my niece safe," Hades said in a dangerously low voice. The Winchesters paled. Hades glared at them.

"This is your final warning. If anything happens to my niece again, I will have to take action," he said as he walked toward the shadows. He glanced at Dean with a kinder look, "But I appreciate you helping Alex with her nightmares."

And then he disappeared into the shadows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex woke up to Dean holding her hand, Sam nowhere to be seen. Dean looked tired and worried, but smiled when he saw was Alex awake.

"Sam went to go get us some coffee," he answered the unspoken question. Alex nodded.

"You had us really worried for a moment there," he said after a moment. "We told you that you could hunt with us when you were ready. We had a deal. You broke it."

Alex's eyes watered, "I know, but it imitated your voice, I thought it really was you. It said that Sam was hurt...then I saw it wasn't you and I decided that I would try to fight it off. It was really stupid but I thought that maybe if I took it on by myself and won that maybe you…"

Dean spoke up as she faltered. "Hey, hey, hey," he said quietly. "You don't have to prove anything to us. We know you can fight. It's just-well, our kind of monsters are different from your kind. We just want to make sure you know what you're up against before we send you out to hunt."

Alex shook her head, "It...it's not that, I wasn't trying to prove myself. I just wanted to make you guys proud." Her voice was small and vulnerable as she whispered, "Thats all I ever wanted."

"Alex," Dean whispered. "We are proud of you. We are so, _so_ proud of you. You don't have to worry about making us proud. We'll always be proud of you, no matter what."

Alex gave his hand a squeeze as a tear fell down her cheek. _They're proud, _she thought before her eyes began to droop and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

_**(A/N) Hello my favorite people in the whole world. Here's another chapter for you lovely peopl. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to Review! Love you!**_

_**-A**_


	5. Goodbye

The Return of the Sea Huntress

_Goodbye_

Alex didn't hear from her Uncle Hades until a month after she was injured by the Wendigo. She was busy finishing up _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ while Sam and Dean were out when he appeared in their motel room.

"Alexandria!" A voice interrupted her reading, and she looked up to see the face of her uncle in a misty Iris message.

"Uncle! To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your spectacular face?" Alex said. He rolled his eyes.

"Those Winchesters are making you even more sarcastic than you already are," he said "But if you must know why I'm calling, it's because I have news."

Alex sat up straight, putting her book aside as she stared at her Uncle. She had made him promise to tell her anything new that was happening in the demigod war long before meeting the Winchesters.

"Your cousin, Thalia," he said with a bit of distaste in his voice. "was resurrected from her tree form by your brother a few weeks ago."

"And you're telling me now?!" Alex panicked. _Thalia's alive_, she thought frantically.

"Alex, she's fifteen. She aged in that tree form and will be turning sixteen very soon." He said, sounding worried. Alex's eyes widened in shock.

"This-this can't be true. If she turns sixteen then the prophecy must come true. The war is happening too soon," Alex said as she stood up and started pacing.

"Thalia is very ambitious, and power hungry. It's her fatal flaw. Kronos will try to use it to his advantage, which is why the council wants every possible candidate for Prophecy somewhere where they can keep an eye on them," he said slowly, as if dreading Alex's reaction.

"You mean me?" Alex stared at her uncle. "I mean Thalia and Percy, they have been trained for years, unlike me. They are the perfect candidates for the prophecy. They don't need me." Even to her own ears the excuse sounded pathetic.

"Alexandria, have you gotten attached to those Winchesters?" Uncle Hades said, his eyes narrowing.

"I didn't mean to, but they care about me, they protect me," Alex said, well, more like begged, hoping her uncle would understand her reasons for wanting to stay.

"Alex, have you forgotten that not only are you a child of the Prophecy, but you have a great destiny awaiting you? You know what has to be done, you have to train to become a warrior," he said gently as possible to the distraught girl.

"Is that all I am? A warrior, a pawn, even to you?" Alex said, tears in her eyes.

"You know I don't think of you like that, darling. But I can't change fate," Uncle Hades said in one of his rare moments of tenderness.

"But I don't want to go," Alex said in a shaky voice before she thought of her cousins, her family that would be slaughtered if she didn't go. "Alright. Fine. I'll leave by the end of the week."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We haven't had a case in _weeks_-" Sam started as they got of the the Impala.

"Ah, lighten up, Sammy. We can relax for a couple weeks, it's not a big deal. We don't have to worry about anything right now, okay? Just chill out," Dean reached out and pushed Sam's shoulder as they walked up to the door of their motel room.

"All I'm saying is that it's weird," Sam insisted.

"Bobby's giving us a break after the Wendigo thing. It's not a big deal," Dean repeated as they reached the door. "Just go with it."

"Alexandria, have you gotten attached to those Winchesters?"

Sam and Dean froze. They shot each other worried looks and nodded, simultaneously leaning towards the door in an effort to listen in on the conversation happening inside their room.

"I didn't mean to, but they care about me, they protect me," Alex was saying.

"Alex, have you forgotten that not only are you a child of the Prophecy, but you have a great destiny awaiting you? You know what has to be done, you have to train to become a warrior," was Hades' answer. _He wants her to go to the camp,_ Sam mouthed to Dean, who looked angry.

"Is that all I am? A warrior, a pawn, even to you?" Alex asked. The Winchesters could hear her tearing up. A sense of protectiveness washed up over them.

"You know I don't think of you like that, darling. But I can't change fate," Hades said.

"But I don't want to go," Alex said. Her voice was shaking. There was a brief pause before she added, "Alright. Fine. I'll leave by the end of the week."

"What?!" Dean burst through the door, not even attempting to bother hiding the fact that he was eavesdropping. Sam followed his brother in at a slower, more sheepish pace. Hades disappeared in a swirl of dark shadows. Alex looked upset.

"You can't just leave now!" Dean said.

"I have to," Alex said quietly.

"Alex, you can't just drop everything and leave."

"Dean, it's her decision," Sam spoke up.

"I have to," Alex said again, this time louder. "It's my duty. My destiny. My fate."

Dean growled. "Screw that. Screw them."

Sam looked scandalized. "Dean, you can't just say that kind of stuff. The Fates are real, they can cut your life string short if you disrespect them."

"Well, not really, I mean, they have to be fair, but this isn't going to stop me. You didn't hear the rest of the conversation. My cousin, Thalia has been resurrected from her tree form."

"Her _what_?"

"Long story short, to save my dying cousin, my Uncle Zeus turned her into a tree. But now my brother Percy has resurrected her, which is not good. Well, it's good that she's alive, but you know what I mean."

"Uh, okay, so your cousin is back, whoopee. That doesn't explain why _you _need to go," Dean said, frustrated.

"She's fifteen, almost turning sixteen. That means that she will be the one to fulfill the Prophecy, unless she dies. This means that the war is going to happen _very _soon, which means I need to train. And since the Great Prophecy claims that it has to be a child of one of the big three, I become a candidate for the prophecy and the Council wants me to be somewhere where they can see me, just in case anything happens."

"But you can't just go," Dean said in a broken voice. "We'll miss you. I can't lose anyone else."

"Hey, hey," Alex said softly, "You won't lose me, well, hopefully not. You have Sam and Cas and I bet in a few months or years you'll find some other people that you'll come to care about."

"But they won't be you."

"I'm nothing special, Dean. I'm not some angel with badass powers, or a hunter with amazing fighting skills, I'm just a messed up girl with a really bad destiny waiting for her."

"Alex," Dean moved towards her. "If you leave, can you promise to come visit us at least once after the war? Just so we know you made it out alive."

"Of course. If I survive, I'll pray to Castiel and he'll tell you that I'm alive. Then I'll come back, those Greeks won't tie me down, I'll be back before you know it and we can go hunting and have chick flick moments."

"Good," Dean smiled.

"Now hug me, you big softie," Alex said with a small smile.

Dean hugged her tightly. "Now, get packed up," he said as he finally let her go. Alex smiled sadly before she headed over to pack. "You've got a camp to get to."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Castiel arrived to find Alex in the middle of packing. He got a scattered "hey, Cas!" as she ran past him to get a leather jacket Dean had brought her from the Impala and a small wave from Sam, who was sitting at the table in the corner.

"She's packing because she's leaving, isn't she?" he asked Dean.

Dean glanced up at him sharply. "Yeah. How do you know that already?"

There was a clunk from outside and a curse from Alex. She shouted for Sam to help her find her jacket. He obediently left to assist her.

"I heard about her cousin and the Council's decision to watch all the candidates of the Great Prophecy," Cas admitted after Sam walked out.

"And you didn't think to tell us about it?" Dean said angrily.

"I didn't want to tell you," Cas said carefully.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because, Dean, I saw the way you looked at her. You saw her as your little girl, and you didn't want her to leave, didn't want her to go out there and fight. It would have broken your heart," Cas said calmly. "And Hades had me swear not to tell. He is quite frightening." he added as an after thought.

Dean sighed loudly. "Fine. Just-can you look after her? Watch over her or something."

Castiel nodded solemnly. "I promise I will try."

"You better."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Line Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Impala pulled up to the forest by Camp Half-Blood.

"This is the place your uncle told us to drop you off at," Sam said. "You just go through there and your camp is on the other side."

Alex looked at the forest in front of her. "Yeah, he told me about it. So...I guess this is goodbye," she looked at both brothers as her throat became dry "Thank you, I can't tell you how grateful I am. I was put into your care and you guys didn't even know me, yet you helped me a lot. You guys saved me, well, I saved you guys, from the hellhounds. I'm rambling. Sorry, I'm not good at this. I should stop talking."

Dean chuckled. "No, kid, you're okay. We aren't really good at this either. Most people die before we actually get to say goodbye to them, so we've done pretty damn well with you."

Sam smiled and nodded at her encouragingly. "Yeah, Alex. I think anyone with their heart in the right place would have done what we did with you. Also, please stop bringing up the hellhounds incident, that was embarrassing."

Alex chuckled and grabbed her bag, "I won't, and we both know that that incident was pure gold and the start of something incredible." She took a few hesitant steps away from the Impala.

"We'll see you around, Alex," Sam said quietly.

Dean smiled sadly. "Come find us, someday, all right?"

"I will, I promise," Alex said before she began to walk away, her bag in her hand before she stopped. She turned back to see Sam and Dean watching. That's when she snapped, she dropped her bag and ran over to Sam and Dean. She hugged Sam who was the closest before hugging Dean as tears began to slide down her face.

"I know," Dean mumbled. "I know. I'm sorry, but you have to. I'm sorry."

Alex pulled away from Dean's hug," I don't want to. I'm scared. Once I leave it's all real. I don't want to die" She said as more tears gathered in her sea green eyes.

"You won't, trust me, you won't. You will survive, Alex. You have to," Dean told her.

"But what if I don't. Then I'll never see you or Sam again. I'll never have another chick flick moment with you" Alex said trying to be humorous but failed.

"Alex," Dean said firmly, leaning down to stare her in the eye. "You will survive. I don't care how. But you will live through this war."

Alex stared at Dean, she saw the desperate glint in his eyes. "I will, now I better get going. Apparently my brother is waiting for me to arrive."

"Okay," Dean said. "Okay." He stepped back from her. "We'll see you again someday, Alex."

"Bye Dean, Samantha," Alex said with a smile toward the younger brother who smiled back sadly. She slowly walked toward her bag, grabbed it and slung it over one shoulder. She took the same slow steps toward the forest.

Sam and Dean stood silently as they watched Alex walk towards the forest. Oh, how she'd grown from the angry girl they had met in the forest so long ago. She was less temperamental, less angry at the world, and more happy. More innocent. Sam and Dean were proud to have given her some of her innocence back.

At the edge of the forest, Alex turned and waved goodbye one last time. Then she walked into the forest and didn't turn back again.

_**(A/N) Wow I'm like so sad now. This chapter was a bit angsty wasn't it. Don't worry, the next one will be better. Also there will be a 4 year time skip as we move on to the more important part of the story, these chapters were Arc 1 or The background information.**_

_**Time line in case you're confused (Starts in order of what happened first):**_

_**-Chapters 1-4**_

_**-Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters happens**_

_**-Chapter 5**_

_**-4 year time skip**_

_**-Chapter 6(Currently being worked on)**_

_**Also I'd like to thank my reviewers:**_

_**ptl4ever419, FavFan, Krazyfanfiction1, Guests, jodyowl1**_

_**Thanks you guys! You're the best :)**_

_**Multiple thanks to Rachel who helps write this and is my best friend! Enough rambling and see you in chapter 6!**_

_**-A**_


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